


Do You Hear The People Sing?

by PrincessSkylar



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - High School, Les Misérables References, Mild Language, Multi, Musicals, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PJO characters will be supporting cast mostly, Slow Build, rating may change but probably not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-12 03:56:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5651629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessSkylar/pseuds/PrincessSkylar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus hated high school. Who didn’t? Freshmen year had been bad enough, with the bullying, the bad grades, the mean teachers, the horrible school lunches.  Who said tenth grade was going to be any better? New friends, new school, his old reputation gone, maybe he could make some new friends. Or maybe he would end up miserable for another three years. He just wanted to get school over with, but it seemed fate had a different plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Magnus Doesn't Have Any Friends (And That's FINE)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wanted to do something Blitzstone, but then I discovered that there were only THREE Jefferchase fics on AO3. THREE. Plus I really like high school AU’s, and that’ll be a lot easier to do with teenagers. 
> 
> This was meant to be a drabble. I don't know what happened. 
> 
> Also this is my first Riordan-verse fic in like four years so. Yeah. It's really weird to be back.

Magnus hated high school. Who didn’t? Freshmen year had been bad enough, with the bullying, the bad grades, the mean teachers, the horrible school lunches. His middle school friends had carried on into a different high school than him, and the new friends he'd made all ended up turning into major douchebags at some point during the year.

 

When Magnus ended up flunking History class in the second semester, his dads didn’t even seem surprised. (Okay, 'dads' had never really seemed like a fitting word for them, honestly. Yes, they had legally adopted Magnus two years ago, after… Anyway, neither of them were old enough to be his dad, technically, so they felt more like Magnus' brothers most days).

 

Well... Not surprised, apart from the disappointed expression that crossed Hearthstone's face when Magnus walked into the kitchen, where Hearth was flipping through the mail. Magnus knew what his dad was looking at without having to ask. He considered turning around and leaving the room before he was caught, but he decided to just face the inevitable.

 

He walked forward until he was in Hearth’s field of vision. His dad looked up, then held out the paper. He pointed at History, which had a big _F_ next to it. Magnus sighed, his shoulders slumping. His chest tightened, because he had tried so hard in that class - he had even stopped back-talking the teacher! It was that damn final, he knew it, he had chosen to spend that extra hour in math instead and he - 

 

Hearth’s hand on his shoulder cut off his rambling thoughts. He looked up at his dad and realized he - Magnus - had started crying in frustration. _I’m okay,_ he signed, glad he didn’t have to say it out loud. He thought his voice might’ve cracked if he'd spoken and, damn it, it was just a stupid grade. Hearth smiled comfortingly, his eyes drifting, when his gaze suddenly focussed on Magnus’ collarbone, his expression hardening into concern.

 

Hearth spelled out, _B-u-l-l-y?_

 

Magnus glanced down with dread - he had thought they had only hit him where it would be hidden under his shirt. _Damn it -_ he knew those guys would make terrible abusers. “It’s not a big deal,” he started to say, but Hearth’s fierce expression cut him off.

 

Hearth lowered his hands from his son's shoulders so he could sign sternly,  _You’re changing schools._

 

Magnus wanted to argue with Hearth, fully aware a new school would just carry the same problems. He was an easy target; small, weak, and equipped with nothing but a sharp tongue - which could get him into trouble, but not out. Before Magnus had a chance to say anything, his dad grabbed the report card out of his hand and turned to march upstairs. 

 

Magnus drew a deep breath, mentally preparing for how his _other_ dad was going to react. He wasn’t sure for whom he feared more, the bullies whose parents would be hearing about this, the history teacher who had flunked him, or himself, who would have to deal with Blitzen's weird attempts at cheering him up.

 

He listened as Hearth’s quiet footsteps made it up the stairs, then heard the opening of Blitz and Hearth’s bedroom door. A slight pause, then... He didn’t even flinch at the booming, indignant, _WHAT?!_ that followed - it was to be expected.

 

*******

 

Blitz and Hearth seemed to argue about everything. Magnus often wondered how they had even become friends, let alone life partners. They were practically polar opposites, like night and day. Magnus had once expressed wanting a cat (he personally didn’t like dogs), and Blitz had begun to explain immediately why dogs were better pets. He and Hearth had argued about it for a month before Magnus decided he didn’t want a pet after all - but he wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t interfered.

 

They argued about coffee or tea, winter or summer, Star Trek or Star Wars, beer or wine, sunrise or sunset, fireworks or starry nights, dates at the theater or a restaurant - it seemed Magnus always came home to the sight of the two rapidly signing about any slight disagreement they could think of. It had worried him at first, but he had grown accustomed to it.

 

So Magnus wasn’t surprised when, on the first day of tenth grade, they had given him wildly conflicting advice and directions.

 

“Remember, the teachers don’t want the right answer, they want what’s in their books.”

_If a teacher is wrong, put them in their place._

“Here’s some lunch money. Makes sure no bullies get it.”

_I packed you a lunch._

“Change your shirt, you look like a homeless kid. Gotta make a good first impression.”

_Make sure you dress warmly, and don’t worry what other people think._

__

"Don't let anyone convince you that you have to make friends. If you don't like the kids there, you don't have to socialize."

_Try making new friends. It'll help you get over the old ones._

The last part was where the trouble really came in. Apparently, Magnus' parents really didn't agree on that topic. Magnus left before the argument got very far, but he figured they would both have even stronger opinions on the topic when he got home from school. He tried not to worry too much about it, figuring he could just avoid the whole problem and focus solely on not flunking any classes this year.

So of course the girl in first hour decided to talk to him as soon as the teacher allowed some free time.

She had frizzy red hair and a resting bitch face, and the first words she said to him, were simply, accompanied by a distasteful expression, "You're new."

He raised an eyebrow at her and nodded. "You're not," he replied.

She narrowed her eyes, as though he had offended her. _Great,_ Magnus thought, _I've already made an enemy._ "Mallory Keen," she stated, shoving a hand out at him in an almost aggressive manner.

 

Magnus shook. "Magnus Chase," he replied cautiously. "Nice to meet you."

 

"Where'd you transfer from?" Mallory asked as she withdrew her hand.

"Middletown," Magnus answered, apprehension about this girl clear in his voice.

"Why'd you leave?" she continued, leaning back in her chair casually, her judgemental expression turning more into one of curiousity. Almost.

"I was being bullied," he answered honestly, before realizing that was probably a stupid thing to do, because now already at least one person knew that The New Guy was an easy target.

 

Mallory's expression darkened, and Magnus was unsure how to interpret that. She shrugged it off, and her murderous nonchalance returned. "Welcome to Audubon High."

*******

Magnus and Mallory had four classes together, and Magnus ended up being dragged to her lunch table, too. Somehow. Now he would be introduced to her friends, how perfect. So much for his original plan.

"Guys!" Mallory called, as she dragged Magnus by the wrist towards a table. "This is Magnus Chase," she announced, as if he was a small animal she had caught. She stopped and stood over her friends to display her prize. "He's new."

 

"Uh, hi," Magnus greeted sheepishly, glancing around the table. The only other people sitting there were a very tall, very hairy boy (with way too much facial hair for a highschooler), and a tall, thin, dark skinned guy with a t-shirt that read "Never take victory for Grant-ed", and had a black and white picture of someone Magnus didn't recognize, with an army jacket draped over his shoulders. He figured the rest of the group was on its way - if not, he had found himself sitting at the outcast table.

 

"Magnus, this is Harry Gunderson and T.J. Kearny," Mallory introduced, pointing first to the hairy boy, then to the other guy.

 

"Hey," they each greeted. Magnus nodded politely.

Mallory plopped onto the bench and pulled out her Disney Princess lunchbox. Magnus tentatively took a seat, glancing at the school-issued slop on the other boys' plates. He was glad Hearth had packed him lunch.

Conversation struck up between the three friends instantly, and Magnus realized that there really wasn't anyone else coming. Look, he didn't have anything against outcasts, he was just hoping maybe this year he would have friends who hung out together by choice, not by necessity. There's just something about getting ignored by the lowest social caste in the school that's worse than most other situations.

 

Magnus listened to the conversation, hoping he would at least have something to talk with them about. If Sophomore year was going to be difficult, he at least wanted a chance to find something in common with his new, uh, friends.

 

He learned that Harry was a natural athlete - even though he preferred the arts, his parents insisted he played sports, and they apparently wanted him in football, but he chose baseball instead. Mallory was also on the baseball team, and Magnus wondered if that had anything to do with Harry's decision.

Mallory liked sports, particularly baseball and archery, and was a straight A student. When she received good grades, her parents would give her ridiculous amounts of money. From the sound of it, they had too much of that, and it kind of pissed Magnus off. He hated rich people.

Then there was TJ, who was, well, the term 'history buff' didn't quite cover it. He was a history geek. He went out of his way to explain the guy on his shirt, Ulysses Grant, who was apparently a Big Deal General in the American Civil War, and an American president twice. Magnus figured the name was familiar, but didn't make the connection until it was explained. Mallory rolled her eyes and Harry smiled bemusedly, as if they had to listen to TJ talk about Grant every day or something. TJ was also the only one of the three to have a job.

 

Magnus understood why he would care so much about the Civil War, and wondered if TJ had had any ancestors who were slaves. He decided bringing that up would be a really bad idea, and that he would probably be considered a racist for thinking of it.

 

When the lunch bell rang, everyone announced what classes they had next, and Magnus discovered that his next class was with TJ, who offered to walk with him. Magnus shrugged and agreed nonchalantly.

 

The small group parted ways and Magnus said to TJ, "You know, I sort of amused you'd be in advanced placement, at least for history."

TJ frowned. "I was supposed to be," he said bitterly, "They didn't have space for me. I'm in AP everything else."

"Oh," Magnus replied, feeling kind of guilty for bringing it up. A moment of silence passed, the kind of silence that occurs when you try to talk to someone with whom you have nothing in common, before Magnus asked, "So, what does TJ stand for? If you don't mind me asking."

 

TJ's expression lightened. "Thomas Jefferson," he answered. Magnus raised an eyebrow. TJ laughed, "No, really, my parents were history fans, too, so they named me after the third president."

Magnus smirked slightly. "Show off."

TJ shrugged innocently. "Slightly," he admitted, as they arrived in front of their new classroom. The teacher was the kind the kind that made students line up outside. Magnus' stomach filled with dread.

*******

Magnus took the bus home, riding alone in one of the middle rows; all of his lunch buddies had after school extracurriculars, even though it was only the first day. He walked into his house and listened carefully for any sounds that his dads were home, though it was always hard to tell, with most household conversations being held in ASL, and Hearth's inexplicably quiet and gentle movements.

He heard the muffled sound of Elvis coming from the direction of Blitz's office, and figured he was working. Magnus went towards the living room in search of Hearth, guessing his dads would want to know how his first day went.

He found Hearth in the kitchen, drinking tea and reading something on his phone. Magnus set down his backpack on the table, accustomed to doing homework as soon as he arrived home.

Hearth set down his phone and signed, _How was it?_

Magnus held his fingertips to his mouth, and lowered his hand until it touched his palm. _Good._ He spoke and signed simultaneously as he continued, "I made friends."

Hearth looks a little uneasy by that. _Good friends?_

Magnus nodded, smiling a bit. "Two of them are honors students." He hadn't noticed the Elvis upstairs had stopped until he heard Blitz's footsteps approaching.

Hearth looked relieved by that and smiled proudly, before warning, _Don't let them hurt you._

Magnus smiled kind of sadly. "I'm a big boy now, I can handle it."

"Tell us about them," Blitz's voice came from the kitchen doorway, as he approached. Hearth followed Magnus' gaze, and his expression softened when he saw his husband's cheerful face.

"Mallory Keen," Magnus started, spelling out the name for Hearth. Blitz moved to sit next to Magnus. "She has wild red hair, and she plays baseball. She comes off as really mean, but I don't think she actually is." Blitz and Hearth exchanged glances, Magnus pretended not to notice. "Harry's a big guy, he's also on the baseball team, but he wants to be an actor. And TJ really likes American history."

"But what are they like?" Blitz insisted.

_Maybe we should meet them,_ Hearth suggested.

"Whoa, guys, I can take care of myself," Magnus assured them, and they both looked to him with an expression that more or less said, _Really?_ Magnus scoffed and rolled his eyes, looking down at his homework. That was the end of the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Samirah will appear in chapter two. Don't worry, I would never abandon her.
> 
> The school name I chose to use, for the new school, is based on the preview of Trials of Apollo, where you see Percy wearing a AHS sweater, I searched up schools starting with that name in the New York area, and found one in Jersey (I know. Don't tell Percy.) and figured I could pretend it's in New York for the sake of plot. So yes, Percy is a classmate, a lot of other campers will be students, and the staff will be Olympians (so when you see demigod last names as a teacher, think of that demigod's parent. Bam. That's the teacher.)
> 
> Magnus' old school name is based on me being a huge Spider-Man nerd.


	2. Magnus Shows His Soft Side (The Only Side He Really Has)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus gets roped into joining the drama club, and learns some things about his classmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should be noted I’ve never done a high school play, since my school didn’t have a performing arts group, but I do regularly do tech for the local community theater. I don’t know a lot about “normal” high schools (I went to a shitty charter) or how any other theater group operates, so it’ll be based off my personal experiences.

The second week of school, classes started. Mallory seemed to be one of those students who always gave the impression that she didn't care about class, and then got all of the answers right anyway. Magnus' first period teacher seemed to be the kind of teacher who hated students like that.

 

English 10 was forty-five minutes of, "Ms Keen, would you like to tell us the answer?" and Ms Keen doing exactly that, with the precise amount of attitude she could get away with. 

 

Mallory was muttering rude things about the teacher the whole way to lunch. TJ looked nervous about something, and Harry was glaring at his school-issued pizza. "Hey," Magnus chirped up. "It's nice outside, why don't we eat out there?" he suggested cheerfully. 

 

TJ seemed to relax a bit and smiled warmly at Magnus. "I know a nice hill," he agreed, earning a dramatic eyeroll from Mallory, for some reason Magnus couldn't quite decipher. He filed it away for later, along with the thousand other strange things that had already happened within the first week of being around his new friends.

 

They ended up sprawled on a hill about twenty feet from the cafeteria doors. There was a tree at the top that provided a healthy amount of shade, not that it was much needed in the cool autumn atmosphere. If they sat with their back to the school, there was actually a good view of the city, and they could watch the traffic jams, scattered accidents, and shouting New Yorkers from a somewhat peaceful distance.

 

Magnus wouldn't have claimed to be an expert on hills, but he admitted it was pretty nice, earning a grin from TJ. He wondered what it was that was so special about this spot.

 

During History, Magnus discovered that TJ was the sort of student who knew more than the teacher - not the arrogant kind, who went looking for trouble, but the kind who genuinely wanted themselves, and their classmates, to be getting the most out of their education. Sixth period was a lot of, "Excuse me, Mr. La Rue, but didn’t..." coming from Magnus' side.

 

 

*******

 

For the remainder of the week, Magnus somehow found himself responsible for the upkeep of the group's morale and behaviour. Whenever Mallory looked like she was about to emit a particularly snarky comment (she made a very distinguishable face when she was warming up to sass a teacher), Magnus would kick her, or her seat, depending on where they sat in that particular class.

 

When TJ argued with Mr. La Rue, Magnus made sure to listen carefully and support TJ in any way he could, including intentionally getting answers 'wrong' because he was more inclined to listen to his friend than the teacher. He figured he was going to end up in a lot of trouble for it, but he was too stubborn to back down. He chose not to think of how his parents would react.

 

He went so far in defending TJ that he would take careful note of the concerns he voiced at lunch, and shared them with teachers in his other classes. It didn’t occur to Magnus that that would be at all weird or stupid, he only thought about fiercely protecting his friends - even if he had only known them a week.

 

On Wednesday, he came up on a way to spend the lunch money Blitz inexplicably continued to give him. Magnus had explained to his dad that Hearth’s packed lunches were fine, but Blitz insisted he take the money anyway. Blitz did strange things sometimes, but Magnus decided extra money wasn’t something he really wanted to argue with. He bought snacks that the faculty had started to offer as some sort of fundraising effort, and shared them with his friends. When he saw how their faces lit up at the sight of free Chips Ahoy, Magnus decided it had been a good use of the money.

 

Mallory had smiled at him for what was probably the first time, and TJ had pulled him into a quick side-hug and said, with what sounded like complete sincerity, “You're a great friend, Magnus.” Harry asked was Magnus sure didn’t want to be paid back, and Magnus had insisted, laughing to hide his discomfort at how big of a deal Harry was making, “It’s cool, really.”

 

On Thursday, Mallory brought Lofthouse cookies, which the four quickly learned were a popular snack with their fellow high schoolers. They had made a swift evacuation and eaten on their hill to escape the other obsessive teenagers.

 

On Friday, Harry brought homemade cookies, and looked genuinely displeased when Magnus joked, “At this rate, we’re all gonna get pretty sick of cookies.”

 

TJ reached across the table to lightly punch his shoulder. “How dare you even suggest that?” He asked with exaggerated offense.

 

Magnus shrugged. “It’s happened before,” he said dramatically.

 

Mallory rolled her eyes. “If that happens, we could always bring something else.”

 

“She’s right,” Harry agreed, “There are other snacks. We should alternate.”

 

They spent the rest of the lunch period coming up with an overly elaborate, systematic schedule of snack-bringing, and Magnus felt pretty proud of himself for initiating it. He was starting to feel like a valued part of the group.

 

He couldn’t help but dread how it would all end - like every other relationship he'd had.

 

 

*******

 

On Tuesday of the third week, as the fourth hour bell rang, Mallory pulled her lunch out of her bag and started walking in the wrong direction.

 

Magnus frowned, taken aback, and jogged to catch up. "Where are you going?" he asked, slightly out of breath.

 

"Auditorium One," she answered simply, as if it was obvious.

 

Magnus considered accepting that and leaving to eat his lunch in the cafeteria, like a normal person. "Why?" he pressed instead.

 

"To get flyers. Wanna help?"

 

"Flyers for what?"

 

"The school's putting on Les Mis next month," she explained, before glancing at him with a raised eyebrow, like duh. "What did you think we were all doing after school?”

 

Magnus shrugged helplessly. "Sports?" He offered. Mallory rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the food in her hands, eating as she walked. 

 

"Wait, so you're all in theater?"

 

"Duh," she replied through a mouthful of food. "That's how we all met."

 

"Oh," Magnus replied, a lot of things clicking into place. Not important things, just little details - mainly how often the three of them would say things like "see you saturday!" without ever inviting Magnus or discussing where they were going to see each other. Or one story Harry had told about a girl tripping over a prop and spraining her ankle (an incident Magnus has never witnessed), and the other two laughing along like they had been there. Or that one time a boy Magnus had never met sat with them at lunch without explanation and complained about a teacher Magnus hadn't met.

 

Magnus and Mallory arrived at the auditorium, a part of the Arts building which Magnus hadn't visited yet. Mallory pushed open the door and walked inside, still eating her sandwich.

Inside stood a small group of people, including Harry and TJ, who both smiled and nodded greetings to Mallory and Magnus.

 

There was a blonde, important-looking girl handing out the flyers to people in pairs. She was tall and her shoulders were broad - she looked like she could be a model in a sports magazine, not someone you'd expect to find in theater.

 

The blonde handed a stack of flyers to Mallory, gesturing to Magnus with her head. "Who's he?"

 

"A friend - he's new," Mallory answered, and Magnus realized none of the group had called him that yet. Of course he knew it was true, but it felt nice to finally hear it. He tried not to let that show.

 

The blonde looked Magnus over before sticking out a hand towards him, in a rough manner much like the attitude Mallory had originally given him, only less vicious. "Gunilla Thorson," she introduced.

 

Magnus took her hand and she shook firmly, with enough strength that made Magnus sure he wasn't going to feel secure about himself for weeks afterwards. "Gorilla?" he echoed.

 

Gunilla glared at him, and he was filled with regret, already intimidated. "Gunilla," she repeated, clearly, gripping his hand a little tighter.

 

"Uh, Magnus Chase," he said quickly. "Pleasure to meet you, Gunilla."

 

Gunilla smiled with amusement, and Magnus couldn't tell if it was malicious or friendly. She released her grip and put her hand on her hip. "So, are you looking to join Drama Club, Magnet?"

 

Magnus internally sighed, resigned - he figured he had that one coming. He shrugged. "I hadn't thought about it, I've never done acting before."

 

"You could start with tech," Mallory suggested, "We always need more techies."

 

"You mean, like, lights?" Magnus asked.

 

Gunilla nodded. "Lights, sound, costume, props," she explained. "No prior training required."

 

Magnus wondered for a second if he had time to stay after school for an extra hour every day, and was faced with the tragic reality that he didn't have a life outside of school and Netflix. He shrugged. "Sure, sounds good."

 

"Great," Gunilla clapped him on the upper arm, "Mallory will teach you all you need to know. I'll tell Mr. Solace we've got a new techie. Now, get started before lunch ends."

 

Mallory nodded respectfully, and grabbed Magnus' wrist, pulling him back out of the auditorium. Harry and TJ followed behind.

 

"Okay," Mallory said, distributing the flyers once they were outside and instructing the group's on where to stick them up. "Magnus, TJ, take the south end, between Tanaka and Mason's rooms, that way you'll be near La Rue when the bell rings. Harry and I will take the north. We'll cover whatever we missed after school."

 

Everyone nodded in agreement, and they split.

 

Magnus and TJ set to work straight away, Magnus supplying little pieces of tape as TJ pressed the posters to walls inside the building. It turned out to be a very unglamorous and tedious job.

 

"So," Magnus said as they made their way down the first hall, trying to bring interest to their otherwise monotonous chore. "Is there any particular reason your family is so interested in American history?"

 

TJ shrugged. “Well, I wouldn’t rule out the fact that my dad’s directly descended from Major General Philip Kearny.”

 

Magnus raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

 

TJ’s shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment that Magnus didn't recognise the name. “Kearny the Magnificent, Civil War Union General, led the Federal armies at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks single handedly, literally.” He sighed, “He was a badass, basically, and he died fighting for freedom.”

 

“Oh,” Magnus replied simply, impressed but unsure what to do with that information. The more time he spent with TJ, the more he wished he had paid attention in history. “Cool?”

 

TJ nodded. “Yeah, he was super cool, anyway, my mom’s great-great-great-great grandmother was a runaway slave, around the same time.”

 

Now that was something Magnus could appreciate, well, maybe not fully, but he still thought it was cool. “So… What does that have to do with Thomas Jefferson?”

 

TJ shrugged. “My dad was also named Thomas Jefferson, and his dad was named George Washington. I have an uncle named Andrew Jackson, though we call him Uncle Andy. Family tradition, I guess.”

 

Magnus nodded, though he thought it was kind of a weird tradition. He wondered if he was related to anyone famous - he knew almost nothing about his mom’s family, and he had never met his biological dad, nor had he bothered looking him up, or asking for his name. He sort of found he had never really cared who his dad was. He wondered if that was pitiful.

 

"What about your family?" TJ asked, bringing Magnus back to the present. "Tell me about them. Does Magnus have any special meaning?"

 

Magnus recalled asking his mom the same thing, Why did you name me Magnus? he had asked.

 

She had smiled and said, It means great. You are destined to do great things.

 

Yeah, Magnus thought bitterly, Like fail high school.

 

TJ must have noticed his expression change, because he said, "Oh, uh, if you don't-"

 

"It's okay," Magnus said, shaking his head to try and clear it. "My mom, uh," he stuttered, swallowed, then tried to begin again. "Well there was a fire, and, she... Didn't make it, you know? But it's okay, really, because I guess, if she was still here, I wouldn't have my dads."

 

TJ listened patiently and respectfully, seeming to have abandoned the whole poster thing to watch Magnus' face.

 

"They're amazing, really, not a lot of people want to adopt a teenager, especially not people as young as they are, and they're really... They actually feel like family, you know? A lot of orphans don't get that, so I'm lucky, really."

 

TJ smiled, which was a relief, because Magnus hated being sad. He hated when he made people sad, and he definitely didn't want TJ to be sad for him. Magnus was happy. He missed him mom, kind of a lot, kind of in a way where his heart ached like a piece was missing whenever he thought about her. But he loved Blitz and Hearth like they were brothers he didn't have.

 

"You're a brave guy, Magnus Chase," TJ said, "I feel honored that you would share that with me."

 

Magnus smiled back, and glanced away from the taller boy. He cleared his throat. "So, um, flyers?" he said, deciding he didn't want to talk anymore about his family right now. School would resume soon and he would like to not be late to history class.

 

TJ nodded. "So, did you catch Agent Carter last night?" he asked, as he started to walk again. Magnus couldn’t help smiling at the painfully obvious segue, grateful TJ was as interested in keeping the conversation cheerful as he was.

 

 

*******

 

Magnus texted Hearth that he would be home a little later than usual that day, and stayed after school to help put up the left over flyers. TJ had work and Mallory's mom was upset over something, so they had each left early, leaving Magnus with Harry and a bunch of strangers.

 

Gunilla shoved a stack of papers and a girl in a headscarf at him. "Magnus, Sam. Sam, Magnus. Go put the rest of these up," she ordered, before returning to talk to Harry about some prop piece.

 

Sam smiled wearily at Magnus, "Hi," she greeted. "I'm really Samirah Al-Abbas, but everyone calls me Sam."

 

Magnus nodded and introduced himself as they started walking. "Magnus Chase, I'm new here and a little overwhelmed,” he confessed.

 

Sam smirked. "Welcome to Audubon," she said dryly. "Gunilla must really dislike you to have paired you with me. What'd you do?"

 

Magnus frowned. "I didn't know I did anything. What did you do?"

 

Sam shrugged. "Family dispute. How'd you get dragged into the theater, new guy?"

 

"I made friends with Mallory Keen and TJ Kearny, apparently," Magnus answered.

 

She nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I think they were in every production last year," she explained, "And Harold Gunderson. The three of them are pretty inseparable." She said it fondly, the way a mother might talk about her children.

 

"You were friends with them, too?" Magnus asked cautiously.

 

"Oh, still am," she assured him, "I got moved up a grade last year, but we still do theater together. You heard that story about the girl who twisted her ankle on set? That was me."

 

"Oh," Magnus replied in slight surprise. He smiled, “That’s great. I mean, not about your ankle, but that you guys are all friends.” He stumbled awkwardly over his mistake.

 

Sam smiled and shrugged again. "Yeah, I was worried that that would change when I got to move up and they didn’t... Anyway, you’re in tech?”

 

Magnus nodded. “Yeah, I’m not much of an actor.”

 

“Me either,” Sam assured him, “My parents don’t like it, they think all actors turn into drug addicts and prostitutes. But tech is pretty fun, and this way TJ isn’t left to tech on his own.”

 

Magnus frowned. “Oh, he doesn’t act, either?”

 

Samirah’s expression saddened a little. “He… wants to, but he has really bad stage fright. He was in a show once-” she stopped herself with a small sigh. “Anyway, they stopped giving him roles, and eventually he gave up auditioning and settled for being a techie.”

 

“Oh,” Magnus replied simply, stunned. He sort of wished he hadn’t asked.

  
  


*******

 

Magnus ended up being at school until about five in the afternoon, helping out with various projects, and hanging out with Sam and Harry. He met a few more theater people, and may have accidentally let slip that his dad was a fashion designer who could help with costumes. It was meant to be a casual comment, but by the end of the evening half of the group expected him to have his dad make the costumes. The horrifying part is that he probably would, and they would be way too expensive and fashionable for the French Revolution.

 

When was dropped off at his house by Harry at 5:30pm, his dads were more than a little concerned.

 

 _What took you so long?_ Hearth demanded before Magnus even had time to make it to the kitchen, where the smell of pasta was making his stomach rumble.

 

“Explain over dinner?” Magnus offered instead, “It’s sort of a long story.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was torn between Les Mis and Hamilton. I went with Les Mis because a) it's been around longer so it makes sense (since we don’t ACTUALLY know when this is placed) and b) I’ve actually seen it so I understand it better.
> 
> Also, I hope to give Sam a bigger role later, writing her just doesn’t seem to come easily to me. And like I said, this was originally going to be really short, I actually didn’t plan on her even BEING here, but I also did plan on having Apollo and Ares and Gunilla... 
> 
> I also did WAY more research on Philip Kearny than I needed to do. Seriously, I picked the name off a random list, then ended up reading way up on him, turns out he was pretty flippin' awesome, he led armies with ONE ARM I mean HOW BADASS IS THAT


	3. The Not Making Friends Plan Fails Fantastically

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus makes more friends and everyone sings some songs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, like, I meant to have this out way faster, but after writing it, I hesitated to publish it. It felt like it didn’t fit with the rest of the story. So I scrapped the whole chapter and started over! So here’s Chapter three, take two.

Blitz and Hearth were completely on board with Magnus’ decision to join the theater group, and Blitz was all too eager to begin helping with costumes - his plan being to actually attend rehearsals to get precise measurements. Magnus had to explain how that might be taken the wrong way - _'They can’t just let strange men touch teenagers!' 'I won’t be touching them, that’s weird!' 'Try telling that to staff.'_ \- and Blitz begrudgingly agreed to let Magnus acquire the measurements himself (an endeavour which he dreaded). Magnus worried how many people would punch him in the face (even if he tried to explain his position - it would have been funny if his sexuality hadn’t been the source of abuse in the past). He didn’t dwell on that, though.

 

That night, as he lay in bed, Magnus made the mistake of letting his mind wander. The particular train of thought had started innocently enough, thinking about what he would wear to schooltomorrow. Somewhere down the line, he started thinking about his mom. Magnus often wondered what she would think of Hearth and Blitz, but he only dwelt on that thought for a moment before all he could do was recall pleasant memories from his childhood.

 

The specific memory he clung to was from when he was thirteen. He and his mom had been on a camping trip, and the sound of wolves howling had scared Magnus. He hadn’t been able to sleep until Natalie had pulled him into her own sleeping bag, and even though Magnus thought he was too old for this by now, he was grateful when she held him throughout the night.

 

He remembered that particular night better than most; the smell of his mom’s dried sweat had always been strangely comforting. He remembered the steady rise and fall of her chest and she had drifted off to sleep, the itchy material of the sleeping bag scratching against his arm in a familiar way. His mother’s gentle breath against his hair, her small, rough hand on his shoulder…

 

He remembered realising that this was his home - out in the forest, surrounded by the mysterious night sounds, feeling completely safe in his mother’s arms. He had held her tightly and vowed to never let go. He had fallen asleep with a smile on his face.

 

Now he lay, curled on his side in his bed, alone. He clutched a pillow tightly to his chest and tried to convince himself that, if he imagined the situation hard enough, it would be comforting.

 

Instead Magnus was left wishing that the pillow in his arms could feel more like a person, that his room could smell and sound like a forest, that the emptiness in his stomach was just hunger. He prayed he would dream of his mother, just to get another glimpse of the happiness he had once felt. It was like a piece of him had been torn away, and it could never be replaced.

 

He had hoped, at this point, crying himself to sleep would at least be an option. Honestly, being sad can be annoying when you have a life to get back to. He ended up getting out of bed at around two am, hoping to find distraction in the world of video games.

  
  


*******

 

Magnus glared sleepily at his alarm clock as it screamed at him, red numbers flashing obnoxiously across the display. If he hadn’t been so damn tired, he might have been tempted to smash it (that wouldn’t have ended too well).

 

He reached out and punched the “OFF” button, feeling a brief respite from the sound as he allowed his eyes to flutter shut for a second. He contemplated simply going back to sleep for a minute, before deciding against it.

 

With a muffled, whining groan, Magnus heaved himself out of bed. He hurriedly got dressed and lazily brushed out his hair, before heading downstairs to get breakfast. Maybe he would feel better after some coffee.

  
  


*******

 

Magnus dozed off several times during his first period. He silently cursed himself for staying up until sunrise, and fantasized about being among his pillows again.

 

The sound of the bell startled him, jolting him awake for a brief moment, long enough to see Mallory scrutinizing him.

 

“What’s with you?” she asked accusingly.

 

Magnus tried to sit up a little straighter, and yawned, almost throwing himself off balance. “I didn’t sleep well,” he answered weakly. “I dunno, I used to be able to stay up for way longer, but--” another yawn cut him off. “Shit, man, I don’t know.”

 

Mallory nodded, and started yawning, before she coughed and glared at him. “Stop that, it’s contagious.”

 

“Sorry,” was all Magnus said in reply.

 

Mallory shrugged and waved his apology off. “Just try to make it through the next few classes,” she ordered.

 

“No promises.”

 

 

*******

 

Magnus slept through the entirety of second period. Fortunately, he had mastered the art of sleeping unnoticed in class, and would have probably gotten away unscathed if Mallory hadn't been previously aware of his predicament and kicked him under the desk.

 

He swore quietly and blinked back into the world of the living.

 

The next few hours passed like that, until lunch. Instead of eating, Magnus just slumped against TJ’s shoulder and fell right back asleep. This time, nobody interrupted his slumber. He awoke to TJ gently shaking his shoulders.

 

“We gotta get to class,” TJ said patiently. “You only have to make it through two more classes.”

 

Magnus whined, “That’s too many.”

 

TJ chuckled, “Well, I have to get to class. If you don’t get off me on your own, I’m just gonna have to let you fall.”

 

Magnus weighed the options for a minute, before sighing. He sat up and stretched his neck for a minute. “Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, following TJ as the taller boy stood.

 

TJ smiled at him, though his eyes betrayed some hidden concern. “Trouble sleeping last night?”

 

Magnus nodded, as they started off towards their class. “Stayed up ‘til, like, five or six.”

 

“Why?” TJ asked, sounding genuinely curious.

 

Magnus shrugged, sobering up a bit as he remembered the aching feeling that had kept him awake so many nights already. “Sometimes I just can’t sleep,” he answered quietly.

 

TJ seemed to take this response as an invitation to shut up. Magnus was grateful.

  
  


*******

 

Magnus managed to stay awake until he got the the auditorium. He then lay his head in his arms and let the sound of a dozen conversations blur together in his head. He felt a presence beside him, but ignored whoever it was for a few minutes before he heard TJ’s voice saying, “I got you something.”

 

Magnus reluctantly lifted his head, curiosity trumping exhaustion. Sitting on the desk in front of Magnus was the most beautiful can of energy drink he had ever seen. “Oh my God,” he muttered, grabbing the drink and popping it open hurriedly, “I freaking love you right now.”

 

TJ laughed, sounding a bit surprised, as Magnus took a huge swig from the can. “You’re welcome,” he said.

 

Magnus hummed contentedly as the unnatural blend of sugar and chemicals quickly worked to bring him back to life. “You’re seriously my hero right now,” he insisted, sighing contentedly. “I owe you.”

 

TJ shrugged. “Don’t worry about it,” he assured him.

 

The two fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, while Magnus drank. Magnus watched the groups of teens running around, assembling various set pieces and practicing their lines. He allowed himself to get caught up in his people-watching for a few minutes, until the vague feeling of being watched caused him to turn his head. Magnus caught TJ staring at him for a brief moment, until the latter turned away quickly - doing an awful job of hiding his previous actions.

 

Magnus decided not to say anything about it. Not that it would have mattered, because a blond kid was quickly approaching them, looking like he had something important to say. Magnus remembered having met him the day before, but struggled to recall his name.

 

“TJ!” the blond guy called, slowing his pace as he stopped at the desk where Magnus and TJ were seated. “Magnus,” he acknowledged, before turning back to TJ. “Clarisse needs your help with the barricade.”

 

TJ smiled brightly and stood up, before shooting Magnus an apologetic look. “See you ‘round,” he said, before darting off eagerly. Magnus briefly wondered if TJ had been bored, and had only a moment to feel guilty before the blond guy spoke again.

 

“Magnus, come with me,” he was saying. “My dad wants to meet you.”

 

Magnus frowned slightly, but stood anyway. “Your dad?” he echoed.

 

“Apollo,” the guy clarified. Magnus stared at him blankly, and was about to say something dry and sarcastic, but the guy seemed to catch on to his confusion before he could. “Apollo Solace. Mr. Solace, the drama teacher. Everyone calls him Apollo.”

 

“Oh,” Magnus replied dumbly. “Well, lead the way, uh… sorry, what was your name?”

 

“Will Solace,” the guy answered. “And it’s cool, you’re new.”

 

Magnus nodded, and the rest of the walk to the stage was filled with uncomfortable silence.

 

Will called for his dad, and when Apollo turned around, Magnus could definitely see the resemblance. Same curly golden hair, tanned skin, same bright eyes. The main difference was that Apollo thought it was advisable to wear white skinny jeans and a tee shirt that read “Hot Dam” (sporting an image of Hoover Dam under a large sun), as well as a brown leather jacket - while his son wore regular boot cut jeans, and a plain orange tee shirt. Magnus imaged how Blitz would react to Apollo, and had to stifle a grin.

 

“Magnus Chase!” Apollo laughed, offering up his hand for a high five. Magnus reluctantly obliged, feeling bad for Will that his dad seemed to be, well, a dork. “Apollo Solace, you can call me Apollo. So, I hear you know a thing or two about clothes?”

 

Magnus shrugged. “Kind of? My dad does, and he’s willing to help with costumes.”

 

“Excellent,” Apollo replied, sounding somewhere between a respectable middle-aged man and a teenage surfer. “Will, go help Selina go over her lines.” Will nodded politely before darting off. Apollo continued, “So, if I provide you with the supplies, how many costumes do you think you can assemble in the next three months?”

  
  


*******

 

If Magnus thought talking about fashion with Blitz had been a pain, Apollo was worse. At least Blitz actually knew what he was saying - whereas with Apollo, it was more of a blind-leading-the-blind situation. Apollo asked questions, the answers to which Magnus had no clue. Eventually, though, they got through it.

 

Once they had worked everything out, Apollo stood up and addressed the rest of the room. “Okay, I need Jackson, Gunderson, and the prison choir!” he announced, “We’re going to be going over Look Down.”

 

Magnus decided to spare himself from listening to an unrehearsed high-school rendition of Look Down by excusing himself to go outside and seek out the other techies.

 

A boy whose friendship group had left for the stage joined Magnus on his way out.

 

“Hello,” the boy greeted cheerfully.

 

“Hey,” Magnus replied, moving to open the door, and holding it for the other boy. He looked him over for a minute. The boy was short - even by Magnus’ standards - with messy brown hair, brown skin, and a lopsided smile. He followed him out the door.

 

“Leo Valdez,” the boy introduced once they were outside, sticking out his hand towards Magnus.

 

“Magnus Chase,” Magnus replied, shaking his hand and returning his smile.

 

“Pleased to meet you,” Leo said, as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “You on tech?” Magnus nodded. “C’mon, then,” Leo continued, spinning on his heel and turning to quickly walk away.

 

Magnus followed Leo as he started to walk along the edge of the Arts building, towards the back.

 

“You’re new, right?” Leo asked, pulling his hands out of his pockets to fiddle with what appeared to be a few screws and nuts.

 

“Yeah,” Magnus answered. “Transferred from Midtown at the beginning of the year. How long have you been coming here?”

 

“Since freshman year,” Leo answered. “I only started doing theater this year though - my friend, Piper, dragged me into it. She has a way with words. I’m not much for acting, but that didn’t stop me from getting cast, apparently.”

 

“Oh, I thought you were a techie,” Magnus commented, confused.

 

“I do both,” Leo answered, “I have a minor role, the, uh, innkeeper guy. Thena-something. I’m pretty good with machines and stuff, so I’m helping with set construction - which is the way more fun part out of those two things, really.” As Leo examined the small machine he seemed to have constructed in his hands, Magnus wondered if it actually had any function, but Leo started disassembling it before he could ask. “So, how did you wind up being a techie? Failed audition? You don’t really strike me as a drama guy.”

 

Magnus wondered how Leo had come to that conclusion, seeing as how he had barely said anything to him. He kept that comment to himself, and answered honestly, “I was dragged into it by Mallory Keen. You know her?”

 

Leo nodded. “Yeah, I’ve met her. We have a lot of scenes together, but we’ve never hung out outside of drama club.”

 

Magnus frowned slightly, realizing he hadn’t bothered to find out what roles his friends had in the show. “Who does she play?”

 

“Lady Thénadier,” Leo answered. He looked at Magnus and wiggled his eyebrows. “My wife.”

 

The idea of Mallory and Leo together almost made Magnus laugh out loud. Leo was so energetic, and Mallory was so irritable, he figured it could only be a matter of time before she clocked him.

 

They soon came into the range of a group of people singing _Let It Go_ from _Frozen_. Leo rolled his eyes and looked to Magnus, then made a gagging gesture. Magnus laughed.

 

The two rounded a corner, and saw a group of teenagers - half of whom were singing, the other half either laughing or looking annoyed. Among the group were Samirah, TJ, and Gunilla, all belonging to the second half. What looked like the beginning of a construction project was lying, virtually untouched, on the ground.

 

“Hey guys,” Leo spoke, as the song came to an end. “This is Magnus, he’s new.”

 

A couple of people nodded in acknowledgement, TJ gave a grin and a little wave.

 

“Hey,” Magnus greeted, waving back.

 

A girl who had been seated on the ground - one of the singers - stood up and wiped her hand on her paint-splattered jeans, and walked over to Magnus. She had wild red hair, similar to Mallory’s, tied back with a bandanna, and green eyes that sparkled with mischief. “Rachel Elizabeth Dare,” she greeted cheerfully as they shook hands. “Pleased to meet you, Magnus.”

 

“You too,” Magnus replied with a smile.

 

“Clarisse,” said the girl behind her, giving Magnus a scrutinizing look. She wore a tee shirt with cut-off sleeves, baggy jeans, and hiking boots, and had the air of someone who pushed other people around for sport (Magnus had gotten pretty good at identifying that sort of person over the years). He nodded to her anyway, knowing it was wrong of him to assume - but also deciding not to be alone with her for any extensive period of time.

 

“That’s Juniper,” Leo said, gesturing to another girl, sitting daintily in the grass a little way away from everyone else. She had long amber hair which fell freely around her shoulders and a delicate dress covering her thin, folded legs. She smiled modestly and gave him a small nod. Magnus waved back.

 

Leo directed Magnus’s attention to where TJ and Samirah were sitting, their backs against the building. He opened his mouth to introduce them, but Magnus cut him off, “I know them already,” he said.

 

Leo nodded, and looked around again. He frowned. “Where’s Thalia?” he inquired.

 

Clarisse shrugged. “Haven’t seen her,” she answered, cracking her knuckles. “But now that you’re here, how about we put this thing together?”

 

Leo looked alarmed by her question. “You guys haven’t done any work yet...?"

 

“We got the front part put together without you,” Clarisse bit back, as the rest of the techies started to stand up, “We just don’t know how to attach your platform to it.”

 

Leo nodded. “Alright, let’s see what we got.” He moved forward to examine the unfinished project they were all working on, but Magnus held back. Woodwork had never been his favorite class.

 

Juniper walked over and stood next to him, also watching as TJ and Sam walked over to Leo and Clarisse, listening intently as Leo started listing ideas. “Have they started rehearsals inside?” she asked. Magnus noted how pretty her voice was, which wasn’t something he generally noticed, and from closer up he could now observe her stunningly bright green eyes.

 

Magnus nodded. “They were practicing Look Down when I left.”

 

Juniper hummed, as if contemplating something. Her eyes wandered between the four techies (who had started bickering heatedly), as though she couldn’t stay focused. She started humming, something unrecognizable at first, but slowly it morphed into _Reflection_ from _Mulan._

 

Without noticing he was doing it, he started softly singing along. It was a song he had always related to. Juniper glanced up at him with a smile, and started to sing as well. Soon, they were both singing together.

 

As they grew louder and more confident they caught the attention of TJ and Sam, who had both gotten bored of Leo and Clarisse’s arguing. Magnus felt a little embarrassed, since he didn’t normally sing (where people could hear him, at least), but he figured it would be better to just own it than back out now. He started to sing louder, deciding he might as well have fun with it. He also decidedly didn’t look at his friends, instead focusing on Juniper, who currently had no business judging him. Nor did she seem interested in doing that, as her pale cheeks were turning a bright red color.

 

The song ended, and TJ and Sam gave mock applause, and Juniper turned even redder, smiling timidly at them. Magnus laughed, until the clapping died down. “You have a really pretty voice,” he told Juniper sincerely.

 

She laughed and covered her face, though it was a bit late to hide her shame.

 

“That was actually… Really good,” Leo spoke up. Magnus looked to see him frowning at them, as though he was offended at their singing. “I’m impressed.”

 

TJ and Sam nodded in agreement, and Magnus could sense that his own face was probably a similar shade to Juniper’s. He waved the compliments off. “Shut up,” he laughed. “You don’t have to be nice.”

 

“Real pretty, can we get back to work?” Clarisse grumbled, disinterested.

 

Leo shrugged condescendingly. “Depends, are you willing to be a team player, La Rue?”

 

Clarisse gave him a glare so menacing Magnus half expected Leo to drop dead. Then she grunted resignedly, giving up. “Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

 

Juniper gently touched Magnus’ arm, and it took a lot of self control for him not to cringe or flinch away. “I’m going inside,” she said softly. “I’m not good with construction, anyway.”

 

Magnus nodded. “See you later.”

 

She smiled and disappeared.

 

Magnus moved to lean against the building, and crossed his arms over his chest. Rachel joined him a moment later before sliding down to sit on the ground. “You should audition for the next show we do,” she suggested.

 

Magnus made a face. “I don’t think I can act.”

 

Rachel looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think?” she echoed.

 

Magnus shrugged. “I’ve never tried. It’s not really my scene.”

 

“Then what is?” Rachel asked.

 

The question caused Magnus to pause. He had never really thought about it, but he'd never been part of any social club, or team, or anything. He thought back on the friends he'd had through the years, and realized that his friends never stuck for more than a few months. It was an unsettling revelation. “Huh,” he said aloud, “I don’t know.”

 

The redhead frowned. “You don’t have _any_ hobbies?”

 

Magnus sat down next to her and pursed his lips in thought. He watched distractedly as Clarisse and TJ started to drill two large pieces of wood together. Most of his time outside of school was spent helping Blitz in his shop, or playing video games. Summers were a lot of trips to the pool, hiking and camping when he could - though neither Blitz or Hearth were very outdoorsy. He shrugged. “Video games?”

 

“That counts,” she granted, nodding amiably. “I think we have a video game club.”

 

“I’ll pass,” Magnus replied. “My favorite thing to do is actually camping, but my parents don’t really enjoy the outdoors.”

 

“That’s something,” Rachel replied, appearing like she was getting somewhere, “Do you like gardening?”

 

“I’ve… Never tried it,” Magnus answered grudgingly.

 

“You should,” Rachel said. “If you like the outdoors, it could be fun.”

  
Magnus nodded and made a mental note to ask his dads about it. For now, the caffeine was wearing off, and he wondered if Harry would be ready to take him home yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this when I was feeling things and also tired, so, yeah.
> 
> So it’s more character introductions in this chapter, which is kinda dumb since you guys prolly already know all these characters. But Magnus doesn’t, so, um, enjoy my overly detailed character descriptions and completely obvious crushes on all these precious babies. This is the point where it stops beings “PJO cameos!” and turns into “PJO/MCGA crossover.” I hope you guys like HOO and PJO as much as I do.


	4. A Familiar Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is an excuse for me to make references. Also, Magnus bonds with some friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m horrified. I’ve become so accustomed to typing “Harry” instead of “Halfborn” that I actually referred to him as Harry while talking about the book. This is entirely my own fault. I’m so ashamed.
> 
> Super thanks to my beta ( insignificantlyanonymous.tumblr.com ) for this chapter. Their suggestion shortened it, fixed two awkward scenes, and made me able to end on a cheerful note! They’ve been a huge help through this whole thing. <3

Magnus boarded the bus the next morning, and saw Samirah sitting near the back by herself. He wondered if she had been catching the same bus as him all year, and walked down the aisle, stopping just next to where she sat.

 

“Mind if I sit with you?” he asked, apparently jolting her out of her thoughts, as she jumped slightly before looking up at him.

 

“Oh, hi,” she greeted, seeming cheerful enough. “Yeah, go ahead.”

 

Magnus swung his backpack off of his shoulders and plopped into the seat next to Sam, setting the bag in his lap. He watched in silence as the bus started to fill out, and tried to think of a conversation topic.

 

The bus doors slid shut, and, as they pulled away from the bus stop, Samirah decided to save Magnus the trouble of starting the conversation. “Do you like musicals?”

 

Magnus was honestly surprised by the fact that she hadn’t asked him something boring, like, “Are you enjoying AHS?” He shrugged. “I guess? I’ve never watched a play or anything, but I’ve seenLes Mis, the one with Hugh Jackman. And I know every song from The Lion King. The English parts, anyway.” He looked over at Sam, who seemed amused by this answer, and said, “What about you?”

 

Sam nodded. “I actually joined the theater group when after my dad showed me Little Shop of Horrors-" she seemed to catch herself, as though she had said something wrong, and made an unpleasant face. “Well, anyway, I’ve always liked that sort of thing, movies with a lot of songs.”

 

Magnus decided not to ask about her distraction, he knew as well as anyone that parents could be a difficult subject. Instead, he nodded and asked, “So, what’s your favorite musical, then?”

 

Sam thought for a moment, pursing her lips a bit. “Probably Moulin Rouge,” she answered, “Kind of controversial, I know, since they technically didn’t actually write any of the music for it, but…” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s good.”

 

Magnus had no idea what she was talking about. “Never heard of it.”

 

“Oh, it’s about an English playwright who moves to Paris looking to write about the Bohemian Revolution, and ends up falling in love with a prostitute, who isn’t allowed to be with him, since she’s promised to a man called the Duke,” Sam explained, “It’s Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor and all of the music is all medleys of popular music.” She blushed a bit, suddenly embarrassed and self-aware. “Anyway, it’s not really the sort of thing I usually like. It’s sort of… Risque.”

 

Magnus laughed lightly, noting that Sam was sort of cute - and definitely a lot less intimidating - when she was embarrassed. “Sounds like it.” Sam nudged his shoulder. “What about you?” she asked, “What’s your favorite musical? Or movie, in general?”

 

Magnus shrugged. “Does The Little Mermaid count as a musical?” Sam just laughed in response, and Magnus smiled a bit wider. “Okay, okay, I actually really like Les Mis, I guess. My favorite movie, though, is probably… The Avengers.”

 

“The first one?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. Magnus nodded, and Samirah examined him for a moment, before continuing, “So, who’s your favorite Avenger?”

 

“Captain America,” Magnus answered, without missing a beat. “Thor’s a close runner-up, but his movies are a little too fantastical to believe. What about you?”

 

Samirah smirked. “Well, my favorite _Avenger_ is probably Iron Man, but I really like Lady Sif. She’s probably my favorite character.”

 

Magnus nodded in approval, and was about to reply, before Sam grabbed her bag and gestured to the hoard of kids now exiting the bus. “We’re here.”

 

Magnus turned to follow her gaze and sighed, before grabbing his backpack and standing up. He and Samirah exited the bus together, and, before they separated, he said, “It was cool hanging out, we should do it more.”

 

Sam smiled, a little awkwardly, and nodded. “See you after school?”

 

Magnus nodded, and gave what looked to most people to be a simple wave, but was actually ASL for 'goodbye'. “See ya!” he agreed. Magnus turned to walk towards the school and came face-to-face with Mallory Keen. “Oh,” he said, stopping before his foot even touched the ground. “Hey.”

 

“Hey,” Mallory said, “Was that Samirah?”

 

Magnus nodded. “Yeah, turns out, we ride the same bus.”

 

“Oh!” Mallory replied, “Cool. So, Harry and I were wondering, what do you usually do while you wait for school to start?”

 

Magnus frowned slightly. “Um, I don’t know,” he answered, a little confused by the question. In truth, he spent the few minutes between exiting the bus and entering his class sitting by himself at one of the outdoor picnic tables, just letting his mind wander absently. Which would be kind of weird to try and explain. “Nothing, I guess.”

 

“Great! You’re hanging out with us today, then,” she answered. “We have a spot in the shade by the Art Building. You can meet some more theater people.” She paused for a second, and frowned slightly, “I mean, if you want.”

 

Magnus shrugged. “Sure,” he answered, then gestured towards the Art Building. “Lead the way.” Mallory nodded and started walking.

 

About a half a minute later, TJ jogged up besides Magnus. “Hey,” greeted the taller teen. “So you’ve finally decided to join us?”

 

Magnus shrugged. “Apparently,” he laughed. In all honesty, it hadn’t really occurred to him to try earlier. Before this year, he had always taken the latest possible bus to school, to avoid being picked on. School, to Magnus, had always meant arriving as late as acceptable, and leaving as early as possible. Only interacting with your friends, and never making eye contact with strangers.

 

Magnus pushed those traditions aside as they approached a small group of teens, among whom were Harry and Will. The rest, he didn’t recognize.

 

“Hey!” Mallory said, fitting perfectly into a spot next to Harry in the circle of friends. Heads turned to TJ and Magnus, as people adjusted to make room for the two of them in the circle.

 

Magnus started looking around at the faces in the group, as TJ introduced him. A couple of people gave polite nods or waves and said, “hey.” Magnus flinched, as he noticed a girl angrily stomping toward him. 

 

She was standing directly before him, about two inches taller than he was, before he'd even registered her appearance. He blinked as he took in her face - those stormy eyes and fierce expression unmistakable.

 

“Anna-- hey!” before he could even finish forming the girl's name, Magnus got properly smacked upside the head by his cousin, then found himself being pulled into a tight hug.

 

Magnus laughed and hugged her back, resting his face on her shoulder and trying to push away the thoughts of how much her hugs felt like his mother’s. “Missed you too,” he muttered.

 

Annabeth pulled away and held him at arm's length. “Why haven’t you texted me? Oh my Gods, look at you, you’re sixteen now? No, fifteen, January baby. When was the last time you got a haircut?”

 

Now that Magnus was able to look at her properly, he was unable to deny that she really looked a lot like his mother. God, the Chase’s had strong DNA. Looking at Annabeth was like looking in a mirror, the kind that was bent to make you look taller. He laughed, and pushed her hands off of his shoulders. “I didn’t know you went here!”

 

“Oh!” Annabeth pushed the guy to Magnus’ left aside so she could stand next to him. “Guys - this is my baby cousin, Magnus!”

 

“I’m a year younger than you!”

 

“A year and a half,” Annabeth corrected proudly.

 

“You didn’t tell me you had a cousin,” said the guy next to whom Annabeth had been previously standing.

 

Magnus' cousin winced. “Yeah, we haven’t spoken in, like…” She drifted off, not in the way she would do if she was calculating time, but like she didn’t know quite the right thing to say.

 

“Ten years,” Magnus finished for her. “Two years ago, we saw each other, but we didn’t really talk.”

 

Annabeth shifted, looking a little uncomfortable. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit some buttons. “Give me your number,” she demanded, holding the phone out toward Magnus. “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

 

Magnus nodded and obeyed. “I promise,” he said, handing the phone back to her. “I’ll tell you everything. We can hang out after school today. I can tell you about my d… My new parents.”

 

Annabeth nodded eagerly, pocketing her phone, before seeming to remember that there were other people around. She gestured to the dark-haired boy, the one who’s side she had abandoned in favor of Magnus. “Magnus, this is--” she was interrupted by the first bell.

 

“Tell me later,” Magnus said. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to take off towards his first hour, Mallory at his heels.

 

“Annabeth is your cousin?!” Mallory said as she caught up to him, her face contorted with confusion. She stared at the ground in front of her for a moment, Magnus could practically see her brain working. “Actually, it’s kind of obvious,” she corrected. “You guys are like clones; same hair, same nose, same attitude.” She looked back at Magnus, and he met her gaze for a moment. “Sameexact eyes.”

 

“Same last name,” Magnus added with a smirk, and Mallory frowned further.

 

“Jesus, how did I not figure that out sooner?”

 

Magnus shrugged. “She probably doesn’t talk about me much. Her dad and my mom-” his voice cracked unexpectedly at the word “-didn’t really get along. I still don’t completely understand why.”

 

Mallory got quiet for a moment. “Did your mom die?” she asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

 

Magnus nodded. “Two years ago,” he answered, trying to sound casual and failing extraordinarily. “Last time I saw Annabeth was at her funeral.”

 

Mallory nodded and paused, silent. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

 

Magnus shrugged. The only thing that sucked more than being reminded his mom was dead was getting pity for it. “It’s okay. Being orphaned sucks, but I got two new dads out of the deal,” he said, trying to sound lighthearted.

 

Mallory gave him an unsure smile. Magnus briefly wondered what it would be like to lead a life where you never learned how to talk to someone who was sad. He pushed those thoughts aside, knowing envy would lead to hate.

  
  


***

 

Magnus sat down at the lunch table and felt three sets of eyes carefully watching him. “So, anyone notice how hot it’s been this week? I mean, I know it’s August, but you’d think it would at least be cool in the mornings.”

 

Mallory made a sound of agreement, but Magnus could practically feel the three thinking about him. He sighed loudly. “You guys wanna know about Annabeth.”

 

“I can’t figure out how you can cut someone out for ten years and then pick up like you’re besties,” Harry admitted, frowning into his mashed potatoes. He looked up at Magnus. “What happened?”

 

Magnus shrugged. “ _We_ didn’t choose not to talk. Our parents did,” he answered simply.

 

“How come none of her friends know about you?” TJ asked.

 

“That’s something you’d have to ask her,” Magnus answered.

 

“Did you ever try to contact her?” Mallory asked.

 

Magnus shook his head. “I didn’t know what she’d say, or if her dad would allow it.”

 

“How did you two go to the same school for almost three weeks without realizing it?” TJ wondered.

 

Magnus frowned. “What grade is she in?”

 

“Eleventh,” Mallory supplied.

 

Magnus raised his eyebrows, as though that answered TJ’s question.

 

Harry frowned deeper. “She’s one of the leads in the show,” he said, sounding almost like he was asking a question rather than stating a fact.

 

“About that,” Magnus said, deciding now would be a nice time to change the subject, and also that he would ignore that statement and figure the whole Annabeth mess out later, “What role do you guys play?”

 

“Lady Thénadier,” Mallory answered, perking up a bit. “Helena Bonham Carter in the movie.”

 

“And I’m Javert,” Harry answered, too excited at getting to use that line in conversation to complain about Magnus’ diversion.

 

TJ looked down at his school-issued potatoes and didn’t comment. Magnus noted that TJ had a terrible poker face, which didn’t help with his case, as far as not being allowed to act went.

 

Magnus clapped his hands together suddenly, startling his classmates. “You guys wanna sit outside, since it’s so nice out? I brought homemade cookies!”

 

TJ brightened up a bit and Harry laughed. The four moved outside.

 

They sat on their hill and finished their lunch. TJ made an almost inappropriate noise as he bit into his first cookie. “Dude, thank your dad for me when you get home, these are freaking amazing.”

 

Magnus laughed, dismissing the weird feeling he got from TJ’s moan. “I’ll be sure to pass that along.”

 

“Is there anything your dad doesn’t do?” Harry asked, somehow shoving an entire cookie into his mouth in one bite.

 

Magnus frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

 

“I just mean, he cooks, and he sews, he seems like a man of many talents.”

 

Magnus probably would have at least considered giving Harry a lecture on how, if a woman cooked and sewed, it wouldn’t have been given a second thought. However, he was too busy laughing as he figured out what Harry was insinuating. “No, no,” Magnus laughed, and glanced over to see that TJ was smiling knowingly. “I have two dads. One sews, and that’s his job, for the record, and the other does, I don’t know, housekeeping stuff.” Magnus supposed Hearth sort of took on the traditional role of a mother.

 

“Oh!” Harry’s eyebrows shot up, “Oh, I, um, that’s fine. I mean, of course.” He laughed, looking sort of uncomfortable. “I shouldn’t have assumed otherwise, my mistake.”

 

Magnus shook his head, though, now that he was thinking about it, he couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Hearth as his mom, and so he couldn’t stop laughing. The scattered, quiet kind of laugh, that came from knowing no one else would get the joke. “It’s fine,” he answered, “It’s not really something I advertise.”

 

“Why not?” TJ asked.

 

Magnus stopped laughing then, taken aback by the question. His shoulders drooped a bit as he remembered the last day of ninth grade. He tried to hide his reaction with a shrug. “Not everyone takes kindly to it,” he answered, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.

 

TJ deflated a bit. “Oh,” he answered softly.

 

Harry spoke up then, rescuing them all from the uncomfortable silence that threatened to fall. “So, Mallory and I were discussing going to see a movie this weekend, as a group. Would the two of you be up for that?”

 

“Sounds like fun!” Magnus replied, eager to bring spirits back up. “What’d you have in mind?”

 

“That new spy movie,” Mallory answered, as she reached to pick a bit of food out of her teeth. “Uncle something.”

 

“Oh, I saw the trailers for that!” TJ said, his face lighting up, “It’s about the Cold War, you know, before they tore down the Berlin Wall, since technically the Cold War never really ended. It takes place in the sixties, and the guy who plays the new Superman is in it! I didn’t know it had come out, yet.”

  
Harry gave Mallory a knowing smile, and she rolled her eyes with a smirk. Magnus realized with a bit of a start that, at some point, he had started understanding their silent language. TJ started to ramble about the Cold War, and Magnus smiled and nodded along, though honestly, all he was really focused on was how cute TJ got when he was excited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Much like Rick himself, I have no fudging clue what my freaking timeline is. Let’s say this is fall of 2015, and Magnus is somehow still fifteen. He’s a millennium baby. The “spy movie” they're talking about is Man From UNCLE, which is in my personal top five movies, at least from 2015. (I have a blog dedicated to it…)
> 
> Anyway, sorry it took so long! I listened to Hamilton while I was starting this chapter and have been busy crying over the US Founding Fathers. I hate myself. Anyway, drop by my Tumblr inbox and scream about John Laurens at me! Also, would TJ (at least in this verse) not be totally obsessed with Hamilton? Literally, he’s named after one of the, er, characters, and he’s a theater nerd. Like??? Anyway I will have plenty of good opportunities to throw in references, and I will not throw away my shot. //rant ALSO I was in California for a lil while like thrEE DAYS TOTALLY A GOOD EXCUSE
> 
> The next chapter might actually contain some plot, so, stay tuned!

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos to my beta, insignificantlyanonymous.tumblr.com, also follow me, princessreyskywalker.tumblr.com for more Magnus Chase geeking! All feedback is greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading. <3


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